To: My Cleverest Converg-ling

From: The Desk of Lillian Pierson

📰 This Week In Data & AI: August 26, 2024

A staggering $60 M for Series A? It happens… just look at Cursor!

On Friday, Cursor announced that it raised $60 million in a Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Capital, and other notable investors, including OpenAI and the founders of Stripe, GitHub, and Ramp. Cursor’s revolutionizing software development with their AI code editing tool that simplifies and accelerates development work. If you’ve been looking for the perfect AI coding companion, you might want to check them out.

AI-LED PLG POWER PLAY (EVENT INVITE)

𝟑 𝐀𝐈-𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐧 - 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐯𝐧𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲!

On August 29, 2024, at 11 am PST, join us for a hands-on live training by Martin Gontovnikas, CMO at Auth-0. He'll share AI workflows that he's developed to drive PLG by identifying users who are stuck in repetitive tasks.

Here’s why this matters:

1. Real-time guidance: Learn how to pinpoint and assist users in the moment, reducing friction and improving their experience.

2. Proven workflows: Get access to strategies tested in real-world scenarios that drive better engagement and retention.

3. Connect with peers: Engage with founders, growth engineers, and operators passionate about simplifying GTM strategies. I'll even be hosting this event ;-)

This is an opportunity to streamline your product’s growth by using AI to remove barriers for your users.

CLIENT COMMUNITY CELEBRATIONS

I'm thrilled to welcome my new clients Hatla and Christian, the brilliant minds behind uQualio!

Their platform is revolutionizing the online learning industry by making it more accessible and impactful than ever.

It’s been an absolute pleasure collaborating with them as they continue pushing boundaries and achieving incredible results.

Join me in giving them a warm welcome and be sure to check out uQualio to see how they're transforming the elearning learning landscape.

MARKETING STRATEGY SIDELINE

Please STOP wasting resources on a full-time CMO when your company might not need one.

I see too many businesses overextending their budgets, hoping a full-time CMO will solve all their marketing woes. But often, that’s not what they need.

Do this instead:

1. Hire a fractional CMO who brings in-depth expertise without the full-time cost.

2. Get tailored strategies that align with your specific business needs.

3. Maintain flexibility to scale up or down based on your current priorities.

The main reason why companies struggle with marketing isn’t the lack of a CMO — it’s the lack of a strategic marketing expertise.

Save your budget, hire a fractional CMO, and get the focused expertise that drives growth.

Want to see how my approach can make a difference for your company? Let’s connect.

Visit my website to explore how we can work together to drive growth.

DOES YOUR GROWTH STRATEGY PASS THE AI-READINESS TEST?

I’ve put these processes to work for Fortune 100 companies, and now I’m handing them to you…